Former Marine shot to death in McDonald’s drive-thru altercation

Justin Lampkins was shot and killed in the drive-thru of an Indiana McDonald’s over the weekend. (Photo: WTHR)

A man who served four years in the United States Marine Corps was shot and killed over the weekend during an altercation at a McDonald’s drive-thru in southern Indiana.

The victim was identified as Justin Lampkins, 25. The suspect, Evan Schaffer, 22, is in police custody.

According to the Bedford Police Department, the incident happened just after 1 a.m. Sunday. Lampkins was with several friends in his pickup truck, which was three vehicles back from the drive-thru window.

At some point, someone apparently became impatient at the speed in which the line was moving and honked their horn. Schaffer reacted to the sound by getting out of his vehicle, walking to Lampkins’ truck and assaulting him. According to reports, Schaffer repeatedly punched Lampkins in the face.

Schaffer then walked away from Lampkins and back to the vehicle where he had been a passenger. Witnesses say Schaffer’s friends were attempting to calm him down but were unsuccessful.

Moments later, Schaffer walked back to Lampkins’ truck, but this time Lampkins shoved him. Schaffer then pulled out a handgun and shot Lampkins in the chest, leaving him with a fatal wound, confirmed Bedford assistant police Chief Joe DeWees, who called the shooting “senseless.”

Schaffer then got back into the vehicle and left the scene, according to police, but was apprehended a short time later. He was booked into the Lawrence County Jail, where he faces murder charges. At the time of his arrest, Schaffer was already wanted by the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office for a warrant on unrelated weapons charges.

Evan Schaffer is facing murder charges for a shooting described by law enforcement as “senseless.” (Photo: Bedford Police Department)

Erick Stahl, who is Lampkins’ brother-in-law and also a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan, told reporters, “It’s tough. Not everybody’s built to handle what we do overseas, and to see it at a McDonald’s, of all places, is sad.”

Stahl said Lampkins was the “epitome of a Marine.”

“He wasn’t violent,” Stahl said, “he only ever defended to the means he needed to and it came from nowhere this time. His whole life was riddled with stories of defending people when they needed it.”

Authorities say it’s unclear who honked the horn, but witnesses claim the person drove away after honking. Police said they are still looking to speak with the other individuals who were in the drive-thru around the time the shooting occurred.

My condolences.
But why the hell is it always McDonald’s? I feel like I’ve read dozens of articles about shootings in and around them.

You can’t say things like “I could die for a Big Mac right now.” cause you just might.

Christopher Todd Dallas

I can see it happening by people with no self-control. The person ahead of you is on the phone ordering for a family of 16 then goes over ever food item, each of them customized. Then they have the same conversation at the drive-up pay window. They move up to the pick-up window where they block the people behind them while they unwrap each individual item to verify it’s correct and then look at the receipt.

Or the moron in front of you that doesn’t move forward because he’s fiddling around in the car or making out with his girlfriend.

Or the person ahead of you that throws their trash out the window onto the pavement.

I’m surprised this doesn’t happen at CVS Pharmacy where 100% of the time the person in front of you is trying to find all of their 3-cent expired coupons, insist on combining 1900 of them to get a case of toilette paper for free even though the coupon says explicitly only one coupon per item.

IamThe Ghost

So what if some idiot does all that delay crap in the line ahead of you? Do you not have the self control to deal with the inconvenience. Your listed aggregation shows little tolerance for others and and a bit of self importance above others. So in the article above which guy has those traits?

Travis

Nothing good happens after midnight

Disarmed in CA

My thoughts exactly.

Omer Woodruff

I never use a drive through . And this is only proof . Fast food can do you in .